Remember: if possible, read this slowly. There's no need to rush things.
Disclaimer: All Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney.
Passion
Chapter 21 : To Prepare
One would have thought that after the halving of the Organization's numbers, nothing should come as a surprise anymore. And yet, Luxord found himself slightly shocked anyway when he found out about Axel's betrayal. True, the man had been behaving strangely ever since Roxas had left, but to go as far as turning his back on the Organization for the sake of chasing after Number XIII, Luxord wasn't sure what to think about it.
And to make matters worse, both Demyx and Xaldin had been defeated by the Keyblade wielder, reducing the Organization's forces to a mere four. A few days ago, they had all been sent out on a mission to collect more hearts. Demyx's mission had come first and his death reached the castle's walls not long after the meeting. The next one to leave for a mission was Xigbar, but he had come back safely enough, save for the numbness he complained of in his fingers and feet. Almost at the same time, Xaldin had departed for his own mission and he met his death at the Keyblade next.
Through all these deaths and steady decrease in numbers, the other members barely showed any emotion concerning it at all. The only one with what deserved to be called a reaction was Xigbar and even his was at the barest minimal. Still a disturbing though in Luxord's opinion, as he himself could muster up no such anger or sadness.
The only thing left for him to do was to put it out of his mind and not think about it, which was precisely what he faithfully practiced every moment of the days; it wasn't all that difficult to do.
At the moment, Xigbar was on a hunting spree out in the Dark City. Earlier, he had announced the need to shoot some Heartless and had insisted on going off by himself–when Luxord offered to go along with him, Xigbar had smiled, kissed him briefly on the lips and told him that there was no need– even though the weather had altered itself to pouring a relentless storm over the world.
So with Xigbar gone, he was left with very little to do in the castle. He had, in a state of disinterest, chosen to go to the large library and had been strolling down the paths between the shelves, scanning row after for in hopes of finding something he might enjoy reading; it didn't have to be exceptionally captivating, just interesting enough to occupy his attention for a little while. So far, he had found nothing and was barely taking in the titles of the many books as he passed them.
He turned around a corner and would have walked straight into the person standing there; as things were, he had looked up and barely managed to stop walking in time. A good thing he did too, because Saix simply didn't seem like the type of person to react very well to an unwanted collision, even if it was entirely his own fault.
The silver-haired man spoke. "What are you doing here?"
Recovering fast from the slight shock and the hasty, staggering steps back, Luxord managed to keep his voice at its normal tone. "Passing time."
Yellow eyes glowed as Saix smiled at him. "Passing time," he repeated. "You do realize that there isn't much of time left for us, don't you?"
He frowned slightly. "Meaning?"
"Meaning that this race is reaching its finishing line. Even now, the Keyblade wielder is already making his way over to this world as we speak. The final battle for us is close."
"Isn't that a good thing? Kingdom Hearts is nearly complete," he pointed out.
"Indeed it is," Saix said in a half-whispered, stroking the spine of a random book absently as he spoke. "And when it is finally completed, we will get what was originally ours again. All the Nobodies will find a place in this universe of worlds."
Absently, Luxord wondered what it was Saix had come down to say to him; from what he had seen, it was rare for the other man to initiate conversations.
"But before we can bathe in the moonlight of hearts, there is one final obstacle that stands in our way."
"Oh?"
Saix looked at him. "Yes. We must get rid of the Keyblade wielder and his friends first. They are still a threat to out final goal." He continued without waiting for a response from Luxord. "Kingdom Hearts was created using all the hearts the Keyblade released, the ones we collected. The Keyblade wielder will not agree to us achieving something of that kind. Once he gets here, and he will come to save his captured friend, he will do everything he's capable of to destroy us. He will attempt to kill the remainder of Organization XIII and the other Nobodies."
Luxord had a sneaking suspicion he knew what Saix had come to discuss. "Do you have doubts about the Organization's victory?"
"Yes," he said simply, startling Luxord with his blunt reply.
"Why is that?" he asked in return.
"Out of the original 13 members, there are only four of us left. Our numbers had decreased since our involvement with the Keyblade wielder. Every meeting with him has left us with one member less."
"And you think the same will happen when the Keyblade wielder comes here?" Luxord guessed.
Saix's expression remained unchanging. "Axel is dead. His 'proof' has already become red. The traitor probably showed the Keyblade wielder the way to this world. We should expect some uninvited guests soon."
"Why," he asked, "are you so doubtful?"
"I am not doubtful. Everything I said is only my reminder to you, so you'll be as prepared for it as a Nobody can be when the time comes," Saix replied easily, smiling slyly.
Something inside him started to turn cold slightly and Luxord could feel the hollow feeling teasing him. "What do you mean?"
The smile vanished and the usual unaffected expression fixed itself onto the other man's face. "Once the Keyblade wielder and his fellow companions arrive, Number II will engage him a in a fight. Your turn comes after his. The Superior said you must do everything within your power to delay his advancement." Saix turned around briskly. "Inform Xigbar of this when he gets back."
Without another word, Saix walked away and Luxord watched him go. His mind was going at a rate slower than usual, taking its time to process the other man's words earlier. After a while, he absently made his way out of the library and up the castle, passing room after room and remembering how all of them were now unoccupied. There was worry gnawing away the edges of his mind and the hollowness was rapidly spreading itself all over the inside of him. He didn't want to think about what Saix had meant earlier but regardless of what he did, the words just kept coming back.
"Luxord?"
He looked up at the sound of the voice and saw Xigbar standing a few feet away from him. The slightest bits of amusement colored his thoughts; for once, it was Xigbar that was wet and dripping all over the floor and not him. He attempted a smile that most likely did not work, judging from the concern that had found its way to the sniper's face, and said, "Welcome back."
Xigbar cocked his head. "Dude, are you okay?" Then, "You look worried."
At that, Luxord walked over to Xigbar and pulled him into a somewhat tight embrace, surprising the other man, all the while very aware of the way the thoughts in his head were running around in frantic circles.
Saix expected them to die.
He felt hands wrapped around him, pulling him closer, and Xigbar's almost muffled voice whispering into his ear. "What's wrong?"
Luxord closed his eyes in almost regret for what he knew he had to do next. He kissed Xigbar lightly on the cheek, a quick, soft touch, fought to keep his voice steady, and told him.
End of 21st chapter
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